I turned 42 in December. Not exactly a milestone birthday like 40 or 50 but really, every birthday is special, right? I mean you’re here another year to both delight and annoy the ones you love & the ones….well, notsomuch. This year, to celebrate, I flew to Austin, TX to see my friend, Megan, who had moved there with her new husband, Adam, a month or so before. We had a BALL. I’m a bit late in sharing our adventures because of my kidney ordeal but as I often say, better late than not at all.
I arrived on a Thursday afternoon & we took off for the outlet mall in San Marcos. An incredible place with many, many high-end outlets including Kate Spade & Tory Burch. It was heaven. Plus I scored my first swimsuit of the season! 80% off at Tommy Bahama! Not really much to blog about except we shopped until we couldn’t go anymore while Chuck was back in Little Rock taking Brooks to the ER for a broken arm. The second broken arm he has had while I was traveling. Perhaps I should stay home. Thank God for an awesome husband.
The next morning we were IKEA-bound & of course I found enough things there that Megan & Adam had to deliver them to me over their holiday trip to Arkansas. We shopped enough to work up a mean hunger and for that Megan had the answer: Louis Mueller Barbecue in Taylor, TX, a short drive outside Austin. She swore this was the best BBQ I would ever eat & I have no reason to doubt her as she has NEVER led me astray. The drive over gave us much time to catch up, discuss our favorite celebrities & talk about the rest of the things we had in store for the weekend. We arrived in Taylor and it was typical small-town Texas. A quaint downtown with farmers passing through in dusty pick-ups under wide open skies. And then right there on the left, there it was……
We went inside & the smell immediately made us hungrier than we already were. We ordered a couple different types of brisket & sat down in this wonderful old building where every single thing was covered with a layer of smoky discoloration, making it that much more charming. Camera in hand, I tried to capture it all, from Megan logging our hometowns on the map they provide you to the vintage signage that they have kept through the years to the bulletin board filled with business cards placed by visitors the world over. It really was a Texas experience not to be missed.
When our food came, it was absolute perfection. No sauce needed (though they do have it) because that brisket literally dissolved in your mouth & filled it with the best BBQ flavor EVER! If you’re anywhere near Austin or Taylor, TX, it’s worth the drive for the food and the atmosphere. Louis Mueller Barbecue will then be the gold standard by which all of your future BBQ is judged.
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